


For Old Times' Sake: Part 2

by HyperSonicX



Series: For Old Times' Sake [2]
Category: Splatoon
Genre: F/F
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-03-27
Updated: 2020-04-15
Packaged: 2021-02-28 23:42:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 8
Words: 7,265
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/23341900
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HyperSonicX/pseuds/HyperSonicX
Summary: After being reacquainted with everyone, Agent 8 does her best to get her Agent work back in order. Her first new job isn't exactly a walk in the park...Didn't intend to write a full-on sequel, but it happened. This universe is so much fun to write in.WARNING: Read For Old Time's Sake before reading this, as this ties in directly with the events of that story.Headcanons involved:- Inkopolis = Tokyo and there are more cities on the Asian mainland- Pearl took over her father's business, and both her and Marina stopped their showbizz careers for it.- My Agents are called Amy (8), Zoe (4) and Liz (3), but they're only named in dialogue, otherwise they are referred to by their number.
Relationships: Marina & Pearl (Splatoon)
Series: For Old Times' Sake [2]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1678723
Kudos: 15





	1. Evening Blues

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Coming home late isn't unusual for Pearl. But Marina is concerned for her...

“I’m home, Rina.”

The front door of the penthouse closed gently. Marina looked up from her novel, noticed 9:47 PM on their digital clock, mounted on the wall of their living room and saw Pearl entering the living room. Pearl took off her trench coat and dropped her briefcase by the coat hanger.  
“You sure your secretaries aren’t goofing off when you’re not there? You really had that much work leftover because you took a day off yesterday?”, Marina said with a smirk on her face, taking her reading glasses off.  
Pearl laughed. “Nah, I had to pass up a meeting because of it and there was a lot of paperwork that needed my approval left over. On top of everything else.” She sauntered over to Marina. “Is our lost child asleep already?”  
Marina nodded, giggling at the phrase. “She is. Apparently Zoe’s calling her up early, like six, or something.”  
“Ah well, she deserves the rest. She said anything to you yet?” Pearl asked.  
“No, not yet. Don’t think she’s ready yet,” Marina said.  
“Oh well. Guess we’ll just have to be patient,” Pearl said as she bent forward and kissed Marina on the forehead.

Marina got up. “Alright, princess, I saved you some leftovers, in case you’re still hungry.”  
“Yeah, I’d like something warm,” Pearl said, following her to the kitchen. “Donuts only get you so far.”  
“With how many of those you chow down and how little you move, I’m surprised you’re not gaining weight.”  
“You’re one to talk,” said Pearl, playfully jabbing Marina in her paunch, making her giggle.  
“OK, ok, you got me,” Marina confessed, putting her hands up in mock surrender. Pearl knew very well how ticklish she was.

Marina pulled a plate from the fridge and reheated it. She looked out the kitchen window at the twilight, turning to night as Pearl made a coffee for herself. "Pearl...I know you love your job.”  
Pearl looked up. “Huh?”  
“And you’re good at it. You care about your employees, you’re a great businesswoman… you’re a great CEO.”  
Pearl sipped from her coffee. “Y’know, my dad used to say that everything before the word ‘but’ doesn’t matter.”

Marina laughed. “But…” she met eyes with Pearl playfully, then cast them down “...I miss you. The concert...brought back memories of back then, when we had all day to mess around. Nowadays...I mean, this isn’t the first time you’re home this late. You’re rarely here for dinner, half the time you keep working on weekends...and I don’t want to be greedy, I know it’s not out of spite...but I miss spending time with you. Yesterday’s concert was the best thing you could have done for our anniversary and I’m eternally grateful you did it...but I’m concerned you’re overworking yourself and I miss spending time with you.”  
Pearl nodded, walked up and joined Marina in leaning against the counter. “I get it, Rina. I do. And I...kinda want those days back too. But I…” Pearl didn’t have a response ready. She sighed. “What would you suggest I do?”

“If you didn’t love your job the way you do, I’d say retire. We have more money than we could spend, we don’t...we don’t need it. But I know you don’t want to, so...maybe you need someone to...lighten your workload?” Marina suggested.  
Pearl thought on it. “I guess. But I don’t know anyone I’d give those responsibilities. At least this way it’s on me if something goes wrong. And I sure wouldn’t give anyone else from the board that responsibility. You know what they’re like.”  
Marina put her arms around Pearl’s shoulders and gently hugged her. “I do, but still...you don’t have to carry the weight of the world by yourself, Pearlie. There’s things you can leave to other people. I mean, for the anniversary, you left your department heads alone for a day, and did anything go wrong?”

“Well, no…” Pearl started.  
“And besides, you can’t do this forever. We’re not getting any younger, Pearl, you need to start thinking about...a successor. Like your dad. He did a great job preparing you, and now you need to do that for someone else.” She felt Pearl nod as she held her against her chest. Marina knew how much Pearl’s father had meant to her.  
“You’re right, Marina,’ Pearl said, smiling up at her love. “As you always are.” Pearl put her arms around Marina’s waist and squeezed a bit.  
“Just, try to work on it, Pearlie, okay?”, Marina asked.  
“I will. And I’ll try to take it easier. For you,” Pearl booped Marina’s nose, making them both giggle.  
Then the microwave beeped and Marina took out Pearl’s dinner. “Hope you enjoy it,” Marina said.  
“Have I ever not?”, Pearl asked with a smile.


	2. Training Session

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agent 8 tries to get back into the swing of things as an Agent, but it's not easy. Definitely not when Marie adds some more pressure...

“Steady…”

A shot rang out through the weapon range at the back of the Sheldon & Sons Ammo Knights store. A high-pitched whine then sounded as one of the target balloons deflated sharply through a graze in its top.  
Agent 4 heard Agent 8 sigh in shame and said: “Alright, take five.” The Splat Charger clattered to the ground and Eight sat down next to it.  
The purpose of the training was to try and see how Agent 8’s shooting skills had fared over the previous decade. Not exceedingly well, to say the least. And Eight was clearly disappointed in herself for it.

“Don’t fuss about it. You’re already doing better than last time,” Agent 4 said.  
“Yeah,” Eight said in a sarcastic tone, “At least I hit the target this time.”  
“Don’t tell me you expected yourself to be in top shape after a decade of no training,” Four said, slightly frustrated with Eight’s lack of resolve.  
“No, but...I was at least hoping I could get my hands to stop shaking whenever I hold a weapon,” Eight said, holding up her hands to prove her point.  
Now Four regretted her words. It wasn’t really Eight’s fault. Well, it kind of is, she thought to herself, before she pushed that thought of blame from her mind. No, there’s far more to it. 

“I’m sorry,” Four said, sitting down next to her. “I know you’re trying your best.”  
Eight nodded. “I’m just scared, Zoe. Scared that I can’t do my job anymore. How is Marie ever going to feel like I’m worth caring about if I can’t even shoot straight?”  
Four chuckled. “I WISH the job was only shooting stuff. But there’s no Octarians to fry like the old days, and Tartar is decidedly bye-bye, so I’ve just...been fighting normal crime. Which involves a lot of scouting and detective work. Really, we’re just a special unit within the IPPD these days. Part of me misses when it was just going in and shooting stuff up, but it’s not anymore. You’ll get plenty of chances without firing a shot.”  
“I hope you’re right, Zoe,” Eight replied. “It really pains me I’ve let you all down like this and I wanna do it right.”  
“That’s the spirit, Amy. You’ll get it right, I’m sure of it,” Four encouraged her.  
“Thank you.”

Then Agent 4’s phone buzzed in her pocket. She pulled it out. “It’s Marie.”  
Agent 8 nodded. “Give her my well wishes.”  
“No problemo.” Four answered. “Hi, Marie, what’s up?”  
“Hey, Zoe, how’s your day going?” Marie asked, in a neutral tone.  
“Pretty good so far. You?”  
“Eh, I have a free day for a change. Can’t complain. But eh…” she hesitated. “Is Amy with you?”  
She eyed Eight in surprise. “Yeah, she’s right here. Why?”  
“Put the call on speaker, you should both hear this,” Marie said. 

Agent 4 did as she was asked. “Alright, we’re both listening.”  
“Ok, apparently the police caught wind of a rumor that there’s a cell of terrorists plotting something, and they want us to look into it. I’m mailing you the info they sent me,” Marie explained.  
“Are we dealing with anti-Octarian extremists again?” Four asked. Despite two decades of integration there were still inklings that wanted nothing to do with octolings and despised their reintroduction. They had committed such acts before.  
“Not this time, at least not obviously. It’s our job to find out what they DO want.” Marie took a deep breath before continuing. “I want Amy to head this one.”  
The two agents looked at each other in confusion. “A-are you sure, Marie?” Agent 8 asked hesitantly.  
“Callie and Zoe keep getting on my ass about giving you opportunities to fix your mistake. I’m giving you one. Don’t fuck it up,” Marie said, her tone suddenly much harsher after Amy addressed her.  
“Roger that, Marie,” Agent 4 answered. “I’ll help her as best I can.”  
“Good. Both of you do your best. Agent 2 out,” and then she hung up.

Agent 4 put her phone away. “Speak of the devil.”  
Eight grew even more nervous. “Oh no,” she said. “I-I don’t know about this…”  
Four put an arm around her shoulders. “Shhhhh, calm yourself. I’ve got your back, ok? We can do this together.”  
“But there are lives at stake, Zoe. I-I...I don’t know if I can take-”  
“Shush!”, Four said aggressively. “You think I’m not nervous every time I have to plan an intercept? It’s a heavy responsibility, and I’ve had to bear it by myself for ten years. So now that there’s two of us? Hell no, we’re not striking out. Say it with me.”  
“W-we’re not striking out,” Eight repeated after Four.  
“Again, more confidence, girl,” Zoe encouraged.  
“We’re not striking out!” Agent 8 said, now fully riled up.  
“That’s the spirit. Now get up, and let’s keep practicing. You’ll get your groove back in no time,” Agent 4 said.  
“Alright!” Eight said, getting up with her charger and preparing to aim at the targets again.


	3. Business Call

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl doesn't like investor calls a great deal. This leads her to give Marina something she's been hoping to get...

“In conclusion, ladies and gentlemen…”

Investor calls. The most boring four days of the year, Pearl thought. Every three months she had to attend a meeting of her shareholders, where they’d get to brag about the profits they were making off of her hard work and the tightroping act she was playing between profits and employee satisfaction. At the very least she was glad she wouldn’t have to listen to their advice, as she was majority shareholder and all they wanted were their dividends. 

She wasn’t actually delivering the speech detailing the financial growth. As shareholder she would’ve had interest in blowing up the figures and therefore she had (very publicly) left this responsibility to her Director of Finances and Logistics. So she was stuck in the audience, listening to figures she’d heard a hundred times. At least she paid attention to the speech, though, half the investors were on their phones working their stock and beakcoin options. Couldn’t even be bothered to listen.

Then the speech ended and the applause started. Most of them were startled off their phones by the few people who cared. Pearl applauded too, but for the speaker, not the speech. She was fairly new in the position, had held it for less than a year, and Pearl was eager to encourage her. The two made eye contact and Pearl nodded, satisfied. Her director seemed visibly relieved. 

The conference room drained quickly, as next door, a reception had been prepared. It was money Pearl hated to waste on investors, but their comfort did save her money in the long run, and it was the only thing she was ever going to do for them, so she went with it. Pearl was one of the last to leave as she joined her employee.  
“You alright, Ueki?” she asked her. “You did good.”  
Ueki smiled and sighed of relief. “Thanks, boss. I’m, uh, still not used to speaking for so many people.” She was a brilliant accountant but not very sociable, but it was something Pearl had worked to rectify over time.  
“You’ll get there, you’re already doing much better than before,” she said, with a wink a thumbs-up, before gesturing to Ueki to follow her out of the conference room.

“And you, boss?”, Ueki asked, doing just that.  
“Eh, same old. I think this whole thing’s a waste of time. We could just send them the report but noooooo, they want the damn wine that comes after.” She rebooted her phone. “I’m convinced it’s the only reason they show up.”  
“Well, at least they’re not intrusive,” Ueki said, as she kept an eye out for the two colleagues she was great friends with.  
“Because I don’t let them be.” Pearl held up her phone. “‘Scuse me, I gotta make a call.”  
“Sure thing, boss,” Ueki said, and she then walked over to her friends.

Pearl moved to a corner away from the reception’s buzz, and started calling. Within two rings the receiver picked up. “Hey, Pearlie, how are you?”, sounded Marina’s sweet voice.  
“Bored out of my mind. You?”, she replied, chuckling a little at Marina’s laughter.  
“You’ve been through dozens of investor calls, hun, you’ll be fine,” Marina said.  
“I know, but I can’t stand these people, Rina.” She eyed the room. Several were huddled around the snacks table in the center of the room, a number were talking on the phone as well. “Money-hungry little scavengers, the lot of them.”  
“You’re more riled up than usual, Pearlie, what’s on your mind?” Marina knew her too well.

Pearl sighed and started: “Before the presentation, the second biggest investor, you know him, right?”  
“That Searpen guy? He’s gotten to you before, right?”  
“Yeah, well, this time, I seriously nearly decked him. He straight up to my face asked me why I wasn’t considering cutting employee benefits to raise the profit margin. The NERVE of this guy,” Pearl went off on her rant.  
“Chill, Pearlie, he might hear you,” Marina advised, before Pearl completely flew off the rails.  
“Right,” Pearl said, quietening right down. “But you get me, right? I just…” she sighed in exasperation. “My employees are-”  
“-the most valuable resource of them all, yeah, Pearlie, we’ve been over this,” Marina said. “Just ignore him. You know you can.”  
“I do but it’s his stuck-up attitude that just drives me up the wall,” Pearl said. “I don’t understand how they can be so apathetic.”

“Me neither. But hey, at least you’re not. And you’re the one in charge, so who cares?” Marina said.  
“You’re right,” Pearl said. “I think I’ll just call it quits for the day once this reception is done. I need to relax a bit.”  
“Wait…” Marina said, surprised at Pearl’s decision. Usually she’d still resume her duties afterwards. “Who are you and what have you done with my precious Pearlie?”, she asked jokingly.  
“I mean, you said I had to take work less seriously, right? Might as well see how it goes,” Pearl said. 

Marina squealed in happiness. “Thank you, Pearlie, that means so much to me. Oh!”, she had an idea. “Do you think you might be able to cook dinner tonight? You know I love the way you cook,” she said quickly, excited like a fan at one of their concerts.  
Pearl laughed. “Yeah, sure, why not, sounds relaxing. I’ll text you the groceries in a bit.” She then grinned. “On one condition.”  
“Hmmm?”  
“You give me a massage after dinner,” Pearl said mischievously.  
Marina hesitated slightly, then said: “Pearlie, you know you don’t have to bribe me with food to get me to do that, right?”  
That made Pearl laugh again. “I know, I know. Just makin’ sure. See ya in a few, Rina.”  
“Yep. Bye, Pearlie, good luck,” Marina said.  
“I love you, you know that?”  
“Love you right back.”


	4. Mission Briefing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agent 4 gives Callie and Marie an update on how the investigation is progressing. Marie is, however, suffering from troubles of her own...

“So all’s going smoothly, then?”

Callie and Marie had been pining Agent 4 for an update on the Splatoon’s latest investigation for some time now, and so she had finally obliged them.  
“Yeah. We have the surveillance in shifts now, and she’s been doing a great job. Her shooting has also improved a great deal...she’s trying her hardest to get in the swing of things,” Agent 4 told them.  
“Glad to hear it. If she’s getting her confidence back, we can all sleep a little easier, I think,” Callie said.  
“I know I am. I feel so much more rested nowadays,” Agent 4 said, “Never realized how stressed I was.”

“Well, at least someone’s sleeping better,” Marie said, who had been consistently voicing concerns that Agent 8 would slip up at some point.  
“Marie, I-” Agent 4 stopped herself. They’d agreed that for briefings Marie would keep her reservations about Eight to herself. “Never mind, it’s not worth it.”  
“Sorry,” Marie said, “Didn’t mean to.”  
“Any idea what their goals are yet?”, Callie asked, trying to divert the conversation away from the obvious point of contention.  
“Not yet,” Agent 4 said. “They’ve been buying an awful lot of hand sanitizer, though. Spirits too. Might be working on something incendiary.” 

“We’ll see that in time,” Marie said. “As long as you keep an eye on things,” she realized her error, “and, uh, and Amy too, we’ll stop them.”  
“Absolutely,” Agent 4 said confidently. “As we’ve done before.” Her phone buzzed, and she checked it. “Damnit, mom,” she muttered under her breath, before saying, “I-I gotta go, my mom’s back is acting up again. She needs me to make dinner.”  
Callie nodded. “Don’t let us hold you up, Zoe. We’ll see you soon.”  
“Don’t keep us in the dark, kiddo,” Marie said. The fact that Marie had never stopped calling Agent 4 ‘kiddo’ was something Four was initially bothered by, but these days it felt comforting to hear. And despite everything, she was still the youngest Agent of them all.

Once Four had left, Marie sat down on the couch while Callie cleaned up the files. However it wasn’t long before Callie heard Marie quietly sobbing behind her, and turned to find her cousin’s face in her hands.  
“Marie…”, Callie said, quietly approaching.  
“I can’t anymore,” Marie muttered between her sobs, “I just can’t.”  
“Marie, what’s wrong?”, Callie asked, sitting down and hugging Marie.  
“Every time…” Marie couldn’t stop herself. Callie hadn’t seen her cousin this emotional in years.  
“I’ll get you something to drink, hang on,” Callie said, rushing to the kitchen and returning swiftly with a glass of water, which Marie gratefully accepted.

“Sorry…” Marie said once she’d calmed a bit. “I just...everytime Amy comes up, I can’t help but think of...of…” Her sobs drowned out her words.  
“Gramps?”, Callie asked.  
“Uh-huh,” Marie said, affirmatively. “And...and Liz as well. And how Amy l-...left us back then...” Marie’s reminders drove Callie to tears as well.  
“I...I understand, Marie…” Callie said, hugging her cousin again. “Is that why you’re so bitter towards her?”  
“Y-yeah,” Marie said, “And I’m trying! I’m...I’m trying to forgive her. I really am. But every time I look at her and I think of her and what times were like right after she left and I just...I just get mad at her, and…” she’s interrupted by her sobs again. Not knowing what to do, she flings her arms around Callie and hugs her back. And so the two cousins sit there, crying on each other’s shoulders.

After several minutes the two break their hug and wipe their faces free of tears.  
“I getcha, cuz, I’ll try to help you out with it. And I know Zoe will do her best too,” Callie reassured Marie.  
Marie nodded, a sad smile on her face. “I hope so, Callie. I really hope she gets this investigation right. I really hate that I’m mad at her as much as I am.”  
“That’s ok, Marie, we’re here to help,” Callie said. Then her phone alarm went off. She got up and checked it. “Sorry, Marie, I have a script reading in an hour, I need to go get ready.” She giggled. “Especially after that little episode we just had.”  
Marie nodded, smiling to herself. “Yeah. I'll be okay, no worries. Thanks for dealing with me, Callie.”  
“What else is family for, huh?”, Callie said, gathering her belongings. 

Just as Callie was leaving the cabin, she heard Marie call her again. “Callie?”  
“Yeah?”  
“You know what the worst part about all this is?”, she asked.  
“No?”, Callie said, turning around.  
“I don’t even remember what she looked like,” Marie said, eyeing Callie very sadly. “Liz… meant a lot to me but I can’t recall her face without looking at a picture. Her outfit is what I remember best. That’s why I didn’t want you guys to give Amy Liz’s outfit.” She looked down. “I don’t want to forget her.”  
Callie nodded and said: “I understand. I’m sorry, Marie,” then closed the door behind her.


	5. Familiar Face

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agents 4 and 8 go over some footage of their suspect, and uncover some interesting aspects to this case...

“Come in. Don’t mind the mess.”

Agent 8 closed the door behind her as she entered Agent 4’s apartment. Though it was quite spacious, the place was a mess, as she’d been warned. A number of empty plates littered the dining table, a pile of dirty clothes gathered beneath the washing machine and the desk in her untidied bedroom was buried in piles of paper sketches and notes. “That’s ok, I’ve seen worse.”  
“Oh man, you REALLY had it bad on the mainland, huh?” Agent 4 said in jest as she took off her fluorescent coat. “Sorry about it, though, I’m still used to the old schedule, I didn’t see the need to clean up yet.”  
“That’s ok. It’s pretty homely,” Agent 8 said. 

“Pff, if you say so,” Agent 4 replied. “I’m gonna change real quick, be right with you.” She went into her bedroom and closed the door.  
Agent 8 took the opportunity to explore the living room a little. She meant her homely remark. Though it wasn’t clean...at all, really, she found it more comforting than most would have, thanks to her experiences. And the furniture was in good shape. Probably because she only ever used the bed, Eight thought, once again disappointed in herself for leaving Four to do all the work. 

Then she noticed the pictures Agent 4 had on a bookcase. They were dusted up and hard to see. Eight took one and wiped the dust off the glass. An old picture of the three of them, taken by a friend of Three’s, during the last Splatfest Pearl and Marina performed at. The memories flooded back to Eight and she couldn’t help but smile and blink away a tear. The good old days. 

“Hey, Amy,” Agent 4 said, startling Agent 8 out of her reminiscing.  
“Oh, uhm…sorry, I just…,” Agent 8 said, gathering her wits again.  
Agent 4 came to look at what she was holding. “Oh, these. I forgot I still had them.”  
Eight handed it off to Four and hugged her, as if to keep her safe. “I’m so sorry I left you,” she said, and Four gladly hugged her back.  
“Just remember the good times, Amy. We’re leaving the rest behind us.”  
Eight nodded in response. 

After a while, Four put the picture back and quietly gestured Eight to sit down at the table, where she had her laptop set up. Eight eyed Four as she downloaded what she needed from the micro SD they’d brought back. The work she’d had to put in after Eight had left really showed. She was fitter than before, she looked leaner and stronger. It was hard to make out under her coat, but she was in excellent shape. Far better than Eight was, for sure. Though she was taller than Four, she felt Four could snap her in half in their current respective conditions. 

“Alright,” Four said, “it’s uploaded. Let’s review the footage.” To monitor their target longer-term, they’d attached a camera to the building across the street, so they could catch up on anything they missed later, and chase some more immediate problems instead. A week’s worth of footage that they sped up through the many hours of nothing, stopping only occasionally.  
“There! Go back,” Eight said. Anytime anyone left or entered the house in question had to be noted down, and so they did. This time though, about three days after installation, something was different.  
“Wait, he’s not a regular,” Four noted. “Seems a tad too fancy to be in that part of town too.” The windows of the house were obscured but the inkling in question didn’t stay for longer than some 15 minutes. 

“Just a minute,” Eight said as the visitor left the building on the screen. “Can you...take it frame-by-frame, please?” Four did just that, and the ten seconds between the man leaving the building and entering his car passed in slow motion. “Right there! Can you zoom?” Four once again did as she was asked.  
“You know him?” Four asked.  
“I worked for him...if it is who I think it is, anyway.” The inkling’s face was pixely and hard to make out, but Eight feel confident she knew what was happening. “If I’m right, that’s the personnel supervisor of one of several gangs I was a part of on the mainland.” 

“When was that?”, Four asked  
“About five years ago.” Agent 8 replied.  
“And what would he be here for?”  
“That’s a long story. You see, on the mainland, Inkopolis fashion is in very high demand, but fairly low supply. So there’s a...really profitable black market in Inkopolis brands, that gouges prices like crazy. And a ton of knock-off brands too. Him, in particular, is fond of faking Toni Kensa and Enperry products.”

“So they’re...clothing gangsters?”, Four asked, “Didn’t know that was a thing, but ok.”  
“Yeah, pretty much,” Eight affirmed. “What I don’t know is why they’d try to hit any targets here in Inkopolis. You don’t attack the supply chain you yourself rely on.”  
Four nodded. “I’m impressed. And your years abroad may come in handy after all. Didn’t think I’d say that.”  
“I’d still rather they wouldn’t have happened, though,” Eight said sorrowfully. “Why was I so stupid?”  
“You were distressed. We all were.” Four patted her on the back. “Like I said, we’re leaving that behind us.”  
“Right,” Eight said, shaking her head. “Right, I need to get past that.”  
“Now, let’s keep going. See if we can play fashion police on these guys.”  
That made Eight laugh. That was the Agent 4 she’d become friends with shining through again. Maybe the good old days aren’t so gone after all...


	6. Dinner’s Ready

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Pearl's home in time for dinner! Whether they'll actually get around to that is another matter...

“Ey, sleepyhead, wake up.”

Marina chortled awake. Sprawled on the couch with a book across her chest, it wasn’t hard to see how she’d ended up asleep. Pearl stood over her still in full business suit, arms crossed and a smirk on her face. “There we go. You were down and out for a bit.”  
Marina stretched. “Mmmmmwhat time is it? When did you get home?”  
“Just now. It’s around 6,” Pearl replied.  
Marina nodded and stood up from the couch. “Glad to see you back so soon,” she said, hugging her precious Pearlie, who delighted in the opportunity to do the same.  
“No worries. It was a slow day anyhow,” Pearl said. “What’s new with you?”  
“Nothing much.” Marina yawned. “Just relaxing. Thought I’d get some reading done. I fixed dinner already, just need to turn on the oven for a bit.”  
“That’s pleasant to hear,” Pearl said. 

“Anything new while at work?”, Marina asked, as she turned on the oven and stuffed the dish inside.  
Pearl shrugged and said: “Nah, not really. Biggest thing was an R&D meeting that could’ve just been a report, to be honest.” She hugged her Rina from behind as she adjusted the oven settings. “Still think you should’ve been the department head.”  
Marina smiled and rolled her eyes, lifted Pearl’s arms of her waist and turned around (and put Pearl’s arms right back where they were). “I’ve told you, Pearl...That’s just not who I want to be anymore. My engineering days are done,” she said. “I just want to live life to the fullest. You know I’d have been depressed in an office job.”  
“I know, Rina, but that doesn’t take away from the stuff you’ve done for the better. And I’m just sayin’, I know you don’t want to.”  
“As long as we agree,” Marina said as she bent down to kiss Pearl. “And even then, I’m still there to support yours, my li’l sugarcookie.”  
Pearl giggled and enjoyed the moment. “That book’s been giving you some creative language, I see.”

The two held their hug for a little while before Marina moved herself to lay the table, with Pearl helping dutifully, as she would. Agent 8 heard the clatter and came down for her room as well. “Hello, Pearl,” she said.  
“Good evening to you,” Pearl replied merrily, “How’s your day been?”  
“Same as before. Still trying to figure out the target. It’s not exactly easy.”  
“You’ll get it,” Marina said. “You’d be surprised how often the answer comes to you on a whim.”  
“True that,” Pearl replied.  
“I sure hope so…” she said warily. “I can’t stand the idea of Marie being even more angry with me.”  
“Oh, I see,” Pearl said, “But at least you’ve carried it farther than Zoe could’ve on her own, that counts for something.” Agent 8 had informed Pearl and Marina of the case, hoping they could offer some insight.  
“That’s true, but that counts for nothing unless we stop them.” 

“I’m sure you will, Amy. You’ve been-” Pearl was interrupted by her phone going off. “Ah damnit, I gotta take this one, sorry.”  
“No problem, I’ll take over,” Amy offered, and Pearl gratefully accepted and walked into another room.  
Marina kept up the pep talk. “Don’t let Marie get to you too much, Amy. Regardless of what happens, what matters is that you did your job as best you could. Marie holds a grudge, but she’s not irrational, you know that.”  
“That’s true, it’s just…” Eight hesitated, “I’m scared. It’s that simple.”  
“I’m sure she’s in two minds about this too, like you are. Don’t fret, ok?”, Marina asked, patting Agent 8 on the back. “You’re doing great.”  
Agent 8 smiled. “Thank you, Marina.”

Pearl re-emerged from the room. “Damnit, shipment’s gonna be delayed. Last-minute fix on the shipping crane due to a malfunction.”  
“Well, that’s how it goes, Pearl,” Marina said. “No big deal, I hope?”  
“Nah, it should still get there on time,” Pearl answered. “The deal was already a bit strained though, after I had to ditch during our wedding anniversary, but we’ll make the deadline.”  
“What shipment?”, Amy asked.  
“Oh right, I never told you. We’ve made a deal with Toni Kensa, Enperry and Takoraka to help them open an official line of Inkopolis-brand stores on the mainland. Apparently, there’s a pretty big demand there for our brands, and no easy way to get them. I hope it gets our investors of my back for a while, and that other brands will join in. I’ve got talks with Rockenberg and Inkline planned as well.”

“Wait,” Amy asked, “You’re planning to open stores on the mainland that sell Inkopolis clothes brands?” Pearl nodded. “And this shipment is, what, clothes?”  
“Yeah. The first store should open in two weeks,” Pearl said matter-of-factly.  
“Toni Kensa and Enperry clothes?”  
“And Takoraka as well, yes. What’s the issue?”  
Eight felt her stomach tie itself into knots. “I think I know the target now.”  
“Wait, what?”, Pearl asked, “Why would they target a shipment of clothes-” That’s when it hit Pearl too.  
“I have to call Zoe,” Amy said, rushing back to her room.  
“I’ll get my security on the line,” Pearl reassured her, re-entering the room where she’d taken the call.  
Marina was left alone in the living room. She sighed. “Well, there go my plans for the evening.”  
The timer on the oven rang.


	7. Night's Watch

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Agents 4 and 8 have planned the intercept. Now it's just a matter of executing it...

“I might have something.”

Night stakeouts weren’t easy. Sitting high and dry on a shipping crane, Agent 8 was having trouble staying awake. Agent 4 was surveying Port Mackerel from down below, with Eight providing a bird’s eye view. The something she was referring to were a group of six individuals, that had just ganged up on an unsuspecting security guard and hopped the fence into the container storage area. That feeling was reinforced when they made straight for Pearl’s shipment.   
“Yeah, it’s definitely them. They’re heading right for it,” Eight said, observing them through the scope. With them they carried a box, the bomb they’d spent two weeks constructing.   
“Moving to intercept. You call Pearl’s security, and then cover me,” Agent 4 said quietly.   
“Roger,” Agent 8 said, seeing Four crawling across the roof of one of the container stacks. Her black cape made her near-invisible at this hour of night, in spite of how flashy her shirt was. Eight picked up her phone to call Pearl’s security forces, waiting away from the shipyard for their signal. 

Agent 4 peered over the edge of the container she was sitting on, the third in its stack. The group used a pair of heavy bolt cutters to open the padlock securing one of the containers. The containers were filled with near-identical boxes. She surmised there had to be a timer installed.   
She sized up her opponents. Four male, two female, all of them tough-looking customers, arranged in a rough circle. Two were working on the container, the other four kept watch. Nothing beyond her capabilities, especially not if Eight could cover for her. Even if her aim was off, they’d still have to factor her in.   
“Security is on its way,” Four heard her say.  
“Well then,” she replied, “let’s roll.”

Agent 4 jumped from the container, cape aflutter, and landed on who she’d perceived to be the biggest of the group, who fell back hard under her weight. She rolled sideways off him as she landed, regained her footing and rushed over the one behind him, who was still shocked at the sudden attack. Agent 4 used this opening to jab him in the throat, followed by a right punch to the face and a kick to the chest, knocking him right out as well.   
With two of the terrorists down, she pivoted around in time to block the punch from one of the females in the group. The girl tried to follow up with a kick to Agent 4’s right side, but Agent 4 tanked the blow like it was nothing. She clenched her arm around the leg and pulled the girl off balance, hitting her with a left uppercut. Agent 4 then grabbed the tentacles of the girl, pulled her head down and slammed her knee into the girl’s face, which knocked her out. 

By this stage the other three had gotten the message. As Agent 4 was dismantling their partners in crime, they’d ran off. “Alright, I got three, where’d the others go?”, she asked Agent 8.  
“They’re running back to where they jumped the fence. Go left ahead of you, you should see them,” Agent 8 replied. “I’ll slow them down.” She took aim with her charger while Agent 4 sprinted after them. After firing two shots at them, the three split up, with one running towards the road to one side the container yard, and the other two continuing towards their original point of entry. Agent 8 told Agent 4 as much.   
“Roger that,” she said as she parkoured onto a container and ran across the tops of them to cut off the group of two.

Following Eight’s directions, Four caught up with the pair and dropped in front of them. One of them tried to tackle her to the floor, which she caught with significant effort, then countered by effectively suplexing him, which put him down on his back behind her. Agent 4 used this momentum to roll back further, pinning the guy beneath her. Knocking him out with a well-aimed hit across his temples, she got up and approached the other person, who was holding his hands up in surrender.   
“You must be new here, thinking you could get away with a stunt like that,” she said mockingly, cuffing him to the closing mechanism of another container. 

The final terrorist, one of the girls, had reached the roadside fence and was about to start a climb over it in an attempt to run, when she heard the telltale upwards whine of a charger right behind her. She spun around and saw Agent 8, having superjumped towards her position, aiming her charger right at her.  
“Hands up till security gets here,” Eight said, and it wouldn’t take very long for them to arrive. Eight could already see them. The terrorist begrudgingly obliged.

Once security and police had arrived, taken all six into custody and confiscated the bomb, Agent 8 sat down on the side of the road, trying to bring down her adrenaline levels. Four joined her.  
“There you go,” she said joyously, watching the police cars drive off, “I’d say that’s a job well done, for a first new case like this.”  
“Thank you.” Eight took a few deep breaths. “But you did the heavy lifting, when it comes to taking them down.”  
“Doesn’t matter. I wouldn’t have been there to do it without your insight. You’re the one who solved the case. I just cleaned up the rest,” Agent 4 said, hugging her friend. “You did great, Amy.”

Pearl was present on the scene too, and walked up to them. “Thank you both for looking out for my wares. I’ll need to spice up security when I’ve got another shipment in stock.”  
“Might be a good idea,” Agent 4 said.   
She addressed Eight. “You did it, Amy. Well done.” She gave Eight a thumbs-up.  
Eight finally allowed herself to relax, and a wide smile crept on her face. She did do it. With a little help from her friends.


	8. Debriefing

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> With a successful mission under her belt, Agent 8 debriefs her colleagues, as you do. Marie, it turns out, has a few choice words for her...

“No worries, you’ll be fine.”

The final report was always the most boring part of any mission, and the debriefing a close second, since it was just repeating the investigation back to everyone. Nonetheless, it was something that had to be done, and since this was Agent 8’s first time in over a decade leading an investigation, she was understandably nervous. “I-if you say so,” she told Agent 4, before taking a deep breath and stepping through the door.  
She was greeted by Callie and Marie waiting for her. Callie seemed very excited about Eight’s success and was smiling warmly. Eight had been most worried about Marie, but she was wearing her poker face for the time being. Better than before, Eight reckoned, and set up for her presentation.

The presentation went as planned. Agent 8 made clear how she had arrived at their conclusions, the final puzzle piece Pearl delivered, and how they had gone about stopping the attack. She outlined some aspects to watch out for in the future, and mentioned what measures Pearl had taken to increase her own security measures, and concluded her presentation.   
Four, Callie and even Marie ended up congratulating her for her work. The plan was that now they’d get started on any future casework that needs preparing.   
“I need to go dig through some files for that suspected robbery case you gave me,” Agent 4 said, “I’ll join you guys in a bit.”  
“Sure thing. I’ll get some drinks in the meantime,” Marie offered.   
“I’ll set up the meeting,” Callie said, “so don’t rush yourself, Zoe, you’ve got time.” Agent 4 nodded in response.  
“Amy, you’re with me,” Marie then demanded, startling Agent 8, “I’ve got a few things to tell you.”  
Eight nodded and followed her into the kitchen. 

Marie closed the door behind them and got a few cans of soda out of the fridge.   
“What was it you wanted to tell me, then?”, Amy asked, apprehensively.  
“Don’t worry, Amy, I don’t...I’m not going to berate you. I just want to explain myself,” Marie said hesitantly, trying to find the right words.   
Agent 8 nodded nervously, despite Marie’s reassurances.  
“I’ve been awfully unfair to you, these past few months. You’ve...you’ve probably been through hell, back there on the mainland, and I assume that...it wasn’t an easy decision to come back,” Marie said apologetically.  
Agent 8 was surprised at Marie sudden openness. “I...I don’t want to talk about it. M-maybe later, I might have more...more courage, to talk about it,” she said, trying to get Marie off the matter.  
“And here I am, giving you even more shit. But it was really, really hard on me, when you...I-I don’t want to excuse how I’ve treated you, I just want you to know where I was coming from,” Marie continued.  
“That’s ok, Marie, I was wrong to leave. We...we’ve both made mistakes, and mine was...it was a lot worse,” Agent 8 said, finding it increasingly harder to keep her composure.

Marie sat down on a stool in the kitchen and hunched over, seemingly in thought. “When Zoe first brought the news, I was really pleased to hear you’d come back, at first. But then it...it brought back memories of...of those first few months when we were so worried over you, and I felt so resentful to you for leaving us. And that first reunion we had...I’m not proud of that. I wish it had gone differently.”  
“Well,” Agent 8 responded, “honestly, it was the kind of welcome I expected...everyone to give me. I don’t blame you.”  
“But I did. I blamed myself. I was so...so torn between hating you for leaving and wanting to call you up and thanking you for coming back. And I hated being so torn. I wanted to forgive, to forget about the hate. I tried so hard to but the resentment, the feeling of loss from those months, that always came forward again when I thought of you.”

“And that’s why...why you gave me the case?”, Agent 8 asked, feeling tears in her eyes.  
Marie shook her head. “Not at first. I didn’t want to risk it. I didn’t...I didn’t think you were capable,” she confessed. “But Callie and Zoe eventually talked me into it. So I promised myself that...if you..if you could do this...I’d do my best to forgive you. And I gave you the case.”  
Eight felt unsure of how to approach Marie, now that she laid her feelings out like that. “Thank you, Marie. For...trusting me like that,” she said meekly. She walked up to her, slowly. “I’ll do my best to k-keep honoring it.” She knelt down and hugged Marie, sobbing of happiness on Marie’s shoulder.

Marie hugged Eight back, to the latter’s surprise. “No..thank you,” Marie said in between Eight’s sobs, “Thank you for proving me wrong. Thank you for...for giving me a reason to trust you again.” She pulled out of the hug. “I’m proud of you, Amy, I do want you to know that.”  
Eight was unsure of what to say. This was the last thing she had expected. Hearing this from Marie meant the world to her. So she just smiled and cried happy tears.   
“I’ll do my best to keep my promise, Amy...I will.” Marie said, blinking away a tear herself. “And I’ll... I’ll try to be a better colleague, put more faith in you. As hard as it may be on me.”  
Amy hugged Marie back, whispering ‘thank you,” continuously. And Marie gratefully hugged her back.


End file.
